Procol Harum

Beyond
the Pale

What was new at
'Beyond the Pale'

September 1998

September 30:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum
news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New
Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Homburg reviewed
as A Paler Shade of White, and some more UK TV scheduled.

Added a page about Stoke Poges,
the unreleased Procol Harum instrumental, with an illustration by
the Rev. Cyril Harris JP, Vicar of the Parish of Stoke Poges, who
retires today (thanks, Matthew
Fisher and Toby Baillon)

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum
news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New
Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: under the Beatles'
influence, Procol's management flirt with film-projects!

September 22:

Where were you, twenty-six years ago today? Making your way to
London's Seven Sisters Road, with any luck!

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum
news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New
Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Procol Harum
playing Europe; the dawn of BBC Radio 1.

Ringo on AWSoP: his opinion
as voiced to 3,000 people who had paid sixty pounds each to
attend the charity bash at Wintershall, near Gary's home in
Surrey, this month.

September 15:

Added a nice page of words and Instamatic pictures from a
Procol Harum concert in early 1976 at Portsmouth:
the whole atmosphere of British college-gigs is nicely captured.
Maybe some other 'Palers' could follow suit from their own
archives? (thanks, Dave again)

Added a page for the new EMI Paramounts
CD featuring Brooker, Trower and Wilson: expect a BtP review
shortly. It has 28 tracks, 12 unreleased before, of which six are
Liquorice John recordings with
Chris Copping on bass (thanks,
Steve at EMI)

Added some detail to Yan Friis's mighty Paramounts Progress Part 1 and Part
2: re-read for the sake of 'Their sound is marvellous and the
drummer is something of a genius', as a prophetic and
discriminating fan wrote (thanks,
Frans Steensma)

Added a 'witty' 1992 article from Q
magazine, whose writer makes a number of remarks which
possibly deserve as much scorn, from today's perspective, as he
was pleased to heap on the writer of the NME piece that BtP put up
yesterday.

September 9:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum
news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New
Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: Jimi Hendrix
getting to grips with Reid words, and a brilliant review of a
live PH show ('next best thing since the Beatles'): Repent
Walpurgis left the reviewer 'limp and exhausted'.

Added a link to a snippet of information about Bud
Scoppa, whose PH articles here and here are worth re-reading (thanks, Joan)

September 8:

Added a gem: the utterly unexpected
story of You'll Be On My Mind and Time Will Tell,two Keith Reid songs recorded in 1967! (thanks, Frans)

September 7:

Added a set-list from 1976
recording a monster Procol Harum concert of 23 songs, five of
them non-originals, two of them long pieces from the 'classical'
repertoire, and one of them a new song whose name is not recorded
(thanks, Dave)

Have a merry chuckle over Dave Lee's What-if
History of Procol Harum  and remember what Kent said to
King Lear: 'This is not altogether fool, my lord' ... (thanks, Dave!)

September 5:

Added a letter from Frans Steensma to Record Collector,
May 1998, concerning 'lost' Paramounts
tracks; by the way it includes the quotation that GB is wont
to attribute not to the Stones' Keith Richard but to his own
publicist (perhaps the other KR?): 'The Paramounts are one of the
best groups to come up for a long time.' (thanks, Frans)

September 4:

Liner-notes to compilation albums are often hack-work that
make gloomy, misleading reading. Not so these,
which evidently emanate from a true Cerdean (thanks, Joan)

September 3:

Added a copiously-illustrated review of the Ringo / Gary gig at Essen, three
nights ago: it includes details of songs, stage-gear, and
perspiration-rates (many thanks,
Frank Matheus)

September 2:

The Mammoth Task: Procol Harum
news in its chart context, kindly extracted for BtP from the New
Musical Express of 31 years ago today by Yan Friis: continuing interest
in Procol Harums management background, and in Royer and
Harrison's Freedom, which at the time must have seemed like a
real PH splinter-group.